Team Penske wins 500 Pit Stop contest in record time

The over-the-wall crew of Helio Castroneves's ...

The over-the-wall crew of Helio Castroneves's #3 Team Penske car won
today's Indianapolis 500 Pit Stop Challenge with a record-setting final-round
time of 7.962 seconds, beating their own 2006 record of 8.0852
seconds. The Team Penske crews were the only ones to complete stops in under
eight seconds, accomplishing the feat for both the #3 and Ryan Briscoe's
#6.

Briscoe was eliminated in the semifinals when his car stalled,
leaving Helio to face Marco Andretti in the final round. The #3 crew,
with Chief Mechanic Rick Rinaman at the right front, Matt Rosentel at
the left front, Eric Prentice at the right rear, Cory Odenbrett at the
left rear, fueler John Haslett, and jack man Pat Hozza, went on to beat
Marco's team by almost two seconds.

This is the eleventh win for Team Penske, and the fifth in a row. Three
of those wins preceded race wins - Bobby Unser in 1981, Danny Sullivan
in 1985, and Helio Castroneves in 2002. This is the fourth win, and
third in a row, for Castroneves's crew.

"It's all about these guys and the effort they put in," said Tim
Cindric, Team Penske President and race strategist for the #3 car. "If
you look at Rick's track record, the dedication that they put into this,
it's no accident that they win it. It's a lot of hard work and at the
end of the day you can be the fastest and all that but you still have to
execute.

"They do a great job, and the trainers back at the shop help them every
day, but there's a regimen. It's not an accident that they win. With
regard to Roger (Penske), there's not a competition out there, I don't
care what it is, that he doesn't want to win."

Despite all the wins, the team does not take this casually.

"This is probably the most gut-wrenching thing that I do every year,"
Rick Rinaman said. "I don't know what these guys are going through, but
it's tough. You go up against guys that are practicing and doing the
same things that we are. Like Tim said, it's about execution.

"To do it three years in a row...as many as forty tires being changed
and not one mistake. It's a credit to the guys behind me. They work
hard, and I can't say enough about Helio and the job he's done for us.
And Roger, too. This is for Roger. This is what we do.

"The guy does so much for us, and we're able to give him something back.
You know we have another big event to go here, and we want to perform.
This is a stepping stone."

Driver Castroneves has a simple take on his role in the competition.

"They deserve it," Helio said. "I'm just there. This one for them is so
special. For us, as a driver...if they're nervous, we're more nervous
than anybody because you don't want to screw it up. Or you're going to
hear it until next year!

"But they are incredible. They've been working off season, and every
year it's like that. Some of these guys have been with me for ten years.
They know my style, they know what I like. They know what I don't like.
The good news is we're all a team. We win together, we lose together. We
celebrate together. It's very, very special.

"The month is falling into place. I'm so thankful to have these guys.
I know that when I go back and sleep I can trust those guys here, and
that's big for a driver."